Posts Tagged ‘Christian-Audigier’

Last week I shared my thoughts on why Melrose Place should give Riley (Jessica Lucas) a personality change so she would become more interesting in the wake of her breakup with Jonah (Michael Rady). I think getting her involved with a fashion bigwig with a dangerous agenda could spice things up and draw in a number of characters in an exciting storyline. This character should be a bad influence on Riley and bring out her inner bad girl while maybe giving Amanda (Heather Locklear) a run for her money as top schemer on the show. By resorting to some media-friendly stunt casting, Melrose could bring in much-needed buzz and hopefully expand the show’s audience and I think Gilles Marini would be a great choice. Gilles is best known for his near-win in last year’s edition of Dancing with the Stars, but has been steaming up movie and TV screens with a steady stream of memorable roles that showcase his dark, European sex appeal. First he had fans of the “Sex and the City” movie buzzing about his beach-house shower scene that distracted a lucky Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones. After coming in second on “Dancing” he lent his Greek-Italian charm to the roles of Luc on Brothers & Sisters and the shady Renaldo on Nip/Tuck. Without fail, Gilles appeared shirtless in most of these projects. This is a natural asset Melrose can use, obviously, but I think they should go a step further and give him a juicy storyline inspired by the real-life story of Christian Audigier, the French designer and fashion mogul behind the monster success of the Ed Hardy brand. After turning Von Dutch hats into a major trend, Audigier seemingly put Ed Hardy on the fashion map overnight with a passion for tattoo prints, a larger-than-life personality, and a sizable war chest. A business titan of this type would stir things up on Melrose and accurately reflect the workings of the L.A. fashion world. Amanda is attracted to power and would no doubt have both business and personal interests in such a character. Casting Gilles Marini would make him a delectable package to boot. The YouTube screen capture from Nip/Tuck below proves my point quite nicely. Click here to view the clip at YouTube.